Say's King Snake

Ophibolus getulus, variety sayi (Holbrook)

Colouration: This form is, itself, subject to some variation, though the general tendency of the paler hue is to form a small spot in the centre of each scale.
Dimensions: Like the typical form(See the measurements given under the head of the typical form.) in proportions, though it does attain so great a length. About 3 1/2 feet when adult.
Distribution: This variety takes the place of the typical form in the central portion of the United States. The range is from southern Illinois to Louisiana; westward in the North, through the southern portion of the plains, and in the South to western Texas.

This curiously spotted snake is one of the varieties of the largest species of the genus Ophibolus. It attains a length of 3 1/2 to 4 feet. The body is stout and distinctly cylindrical (not tapering so gradually from the greatest diameter as do most serpents, but retaining a uniform thickness for a great part of the length). The head is small and but slightly distinct from the neck.

The commonest phase is black, with a pale green or white spot in the centre of each scale. The abdomen is yellow, with large, black blotches.

On numerous specimens the spots evince a tendency to unite into narrow cross-bands on the back at regular intervals, which are about the same distance apart as the bands of the typical form. In the areas between these fused lines of spots, the other scales possess the same spotted appearance as with the first phase described. Other specimens possess this character carried to a more extreme degree. At regular intervals across the back, the spots unite in narrow, sharply delineated lines, while between these bands there are solid black areas; the scales on the sides, however, have green or yellow centres. Such specimens have been designated as the variety splendidus by Baird and Girard, but the variation is too superficial to be considered under a distinct head when compared with the many intermediate or connecting forms.